Question about gun safety.

[crazydog]

I purchase my S&W 686 about a month ago, mainly for shooting range, but home defense too, I also purchased a safe and a good triger lock since i have two little ones at home I just want to be as safe as possible and I put the trigger lock on and then inside the safe.

Now, yesterday I was asking myself that if one day I need to use my gun for home defense I will not be able to use it, since I have to open the safe, remove the trigger lock and then load the gun.

am I too responsible or it is fine to be cautious when having little ones at home?

 

[Candiru]

I think you're being a little over-cautious in a way that may hamper your ability to use the gun for its intended purposes. If your safe is of good quality, it should be all that's necessary to protect your gun from curious little fingers.

You might also want to look at carrying your gun in a good holster when inside the home. It's the best combination of availability and security: The gun is right there if you need it, but you'll also be instantly aware if one of your kids is trying to play with it and you'll have an opportunity to give him or her a brief lesson on safety around guns.

 

[miko]

That's true. The only way to have the gun both secure and available is to have it on you when you are home and locked when you are not.

I have a bedside safe that I keep locke throughout the day but open before I go to bed. This way, there are no surprises (shaking hands, forgotten combinations, low battery, etc,) if I need a gun in the middle of the night.

P.S. My almost-5 year old, who is a pretty strong for his age, could not press a trigger or cock a hammer on my model 66 even using both fingers. The only way he could shoot the gun (with wax bullets) was in SA mode with me cocking it every time.

I always let him shoot when he asks to shoot with me and make him shoot a few more rounds after he doesn't want to shoot any more - that reduces the "forbidden fruit" temptation and helps him learn the proper handling in case all other measures fail.

miko

 

[Flame Red]

I have little ones too and used to do both - lock them with trigger locks and in a safe. Now I don't use trigger locks because:

1. Went all the way to the range and forgot trigger lock keys once too many times.

2. Increased size of collection and getting a trigger lock for each was getting a bit much.

3. Increases access time when SHTF.

I think you too will be just as safe if you remember to always lock the safe up and always keep them on your person when they are not in the safe.

 

[ugaarguy]

I think a trigger lock on and inside the safe is overkill. However I commend you for putting the safety of your children first. Children in the home, especially little ones, present the unique situation of balancing securing the firearm from them, but still making it accessable to yourself to defend them; God willing you'll never be put in that situation. I'd recommend you look at one of the many single handgun capacity bedside/nightstand safes on the market. They store the weapon securely, but also you illuminated digital keypads that allow the combo to be entered easily under stress, even in the dark, so you can still access the gun quickly in time of need.

Of course, THR Moderator Kathy Jackson, username Pax, is perhaps one of the best qualified to discuss the topic of children and firearms in the home. As a firearms instructor who is also the mother of five boys her experience and insight are invaluable. Luckily for us she has shared it. Her website www.corneredcat.com is a great resource. Take some time to read there and I think you'll have a clearer and more comfortable perspective.

Lastly, please, please, please, load your 686 with 38 specials and not 357 mags for home defense. The flash of the 357 in low light will kill your night vision. Worse, regardless of light, the sound from the blast of a 357 Mag fired indoors is almost deafening without hearng protection. For the sake of your and your childrens' hearing load up the 38s for HD.

 

[EddieCoyle]

I keep most of them locked up and unloaded. My HD handgun is in a bedside safe, and I too keep it open when I go to bed, and locked when I'm not around.

My kids learned about gun safety as soon as they were able, and started shooting around the age of 6.

IMHO, teaching your kids about guns is as important as teaching them to swim. Eventually, they're going to end up around both water and guns when you're not there.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

I grew up with loaded guns in the house -- there was always a loaded .30-30 behind the kitchen door on the ranch. My two daughters grew up with loaded guns -- there was always a shotgun (magazine loaded, chamber empty) beside the bed and a loaded .357 in the night stand. The kids were taught to use and respect guns, not to look on them as forbidden fruit.

The best defense against firearms accidents is training, not locks.

 

[TallPine]

Just don't ever clean your gun and your family will be safe.

Everyone knows that accidents only happen when cleaning your gun.

 

[James T Thomas]

jitters

In an all out crisis your hands may shake, your fingers tremble and your knees knock as you desperately try to remove those locks to defend yourself and your loved ones.

That will not be the time to be fumbling with keys or even worse screaming in your mind, "now where did I put those things!"

Keep it simple.

Place the safe up out of reach.

 

[Standing Wolf]

I believe it makes more sense to gun-proof kids than kid-proof guns.

 

[geekWithA.45]

Trigger locks inside the safe are overkill, IMO.

Incidentally, most triggerlocks are pretty easy to defeat, as long as you don't care about the finish.

 

[MachIVshooter]

I grew up with loaded guns in the house -- there was always a loaded .30-30 behind the kitchen door on the ranch. My two daughters grew up with loaded guns -- there was always a shotgun (magazine loaded, chamber empty) beside the bed and a loaded .357 in the night stand. The kids were taught to use and respect guns, not to look on them as forbidden fruit.

The best defense against firearms accidents is training, not locks

I second the motion.

When my sister and I were growing up (as far back as I can remember), firearms (handguns, rifles and shotguns) were accessible to us at any time. My father never locked them up; he instead taught us to resect them and made it very clear that we were not to handle them without his permission. We never even thought about playing with them. My father never used physical punishment (the lectures were far, far worse), but I'm sure he'd have given us a whoopin' for using any of the firearms without permission. It was never an issue.